The Lionel American Flyer EP-5 is the latest version of a locomotive with a lot of history in S gauge. The General Electric prototype gained fame in service with the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. A.C. Gilbert first produced its model numbered 449 in 1956-57 with one motor and a horn. In 1958 it became No. 21573 and lost its horn.
Lionel issued a New Haven EP-5 under the American Flyer banner in 1991 with one motor. It produced the same engine with a Milwaukee Road shell a year later. Another version of the engine was made in 2009, this time with two motors.
Lionel American Flyer EP-5
Lionel announced the production of a FlyerChief EP-5 in 2020, and again in the 2021 American Flyer catalog. This production run covers both announcements. The models come in four liveries: New Haven (tested, No. 2021010), New York Central, Great Northern, and Pennsylvania.
It’s interesting that in this group only New Haven actually rostered the units. When NH was merged into Penn Central, six of the original 10 continued in service. The other four were scrapped.
These models feature FlyerChief control, directional LED lighting, ElectroCouplers on both ends, manually operated pantographs, and an illuminated cab. They are Bluetooth equipped.
The cab, as well as the other lighting, illuminates the end the system assumes is forward. It can be operated with transformer only including D.C.; its own handheld remote; the Lionel universal remote; or via a smartphone/tablet with the LionChief application.
I found the engine to be packed well in its box surrounded by Styrofoam inside a clear stiff plastic container with its manual and FlyerChief controller. The handheld controller is labeled for the New Haven engine. There were no extra traction tires or special items in the box.
Before running the locomotive for this review I read through the manual for any particulars I needed to note. I did lubricate the engine as specified in the manual because it has been my experience that engines can come from production without grease or oil.
Testing, testing…
First, I ran the new engine with transformer only to see how it did. It ran well with quick responses and there were no issues. Using the two 6-5906 Lionel sound activation buttons wired into my layout I tested the sounds produced with their proper utilization. Everything worked as specified.
There are buttons on the underside of the engine to set operation, for example if you are going to use just a transformer, or the transformer with the handheld controller. You can also turn off the sound system.
I used its controller and again ran it through a series of tests. Following that I used the universal controller; both were completely successful. Finally I used my phone with LionChief Bluetooth app. Again, the engine performed perfectly.
Staying in control
It’s important to note the LionChief app gives you a lot more control options than the handheld unit or the Universal Remote. The app is a wonderful way to run your FlyerChief engines and adjust its features just to your liking.
The Railsounds Lionel put in the engine sound more like diesel engines than electric motors. I even compared it with a diesel FlyerChief engine to be sure of my analysis. EP-5s were called “Jets” by the employees of the NH due to the roar of made by their equipment cooling blowers. I’ve read that sound was captured in the first moments of the movie The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit. It is too bad Lionel didn’t duplicate the sound from the film.
The other Railsounds were present and the buttons activated the whistle and bell perfectly. To get crew talk you have to activate it with a short blast of the whistle button. It worked as it should.
On the rails
My layout uses original American Flyer track and switches that have tight curves and Gilbert switch issues that can occur when testing. The EP-5 no trouble with any of it. I put Gilbert-era freight cars behind the unit to test its pulling ability; I got up to 22 before cars derailed on the corners. With its two motors the locomotive can pull any reasonable-length train.
The paint appeared crisp with no overspray. The paint colors of the New Haven match the earlier versions almost exactly. One difference is Lionel decided to paint the trucks black, a change from the silver used in previous runs.
The list price is $329.99 on models in this offering. If you want one you might still be able to get it through a dealer. You better act fast; according to my contact at Lionel, since it took two announcements to get enough orders for this production run, it could be a while before they make it again.
